History of American Education

History of American Education

Every human infant comes into the world devoid of the faculties characteristic of fully developed human beings . The process of growing up is the process of the development of the child 's faculties . The overwhelmingly important aspect of the growing-up process is mental , the development of mental powers , or perception and reason

Margaret Szasz`s `Education and the American Indian : The Road to Self-Determination Since 1928

Margaret Szasz traced the evolution of federal American Indian educational policy during a critical span of time beginning with the Meriam

Report in 1928 through the Kennedy Report of 1969 and the consequent passage of the Indian Education Act . These reports which resulted from intensive government sponsored studies of conditions in American Indian life , provided the impetus for important changes in Indian Administration and ultimately influenced a federal policy shift away from the earlier assimilationist ideology toward a culturally pluralistic perspective which fostered the possibility of self determination for American Indian nations . In American Indian education from 1928 to 1973 there are two types of studies that have become popular . These are historical monographs on regional or tribal education and general accounts of contemporary Indian schooling . The Meriam report suggested that education should be the primary function of the Indian bureau . It advised that Indian education be geared for all age levels and that it be tied in closely with the community . It encouraged construction of day schools to serve as community centers and proposed extensive reform of boarding schools , including the introduction of Indian culture and revision of the curriculum so that it would be adaptable to local conditions . In addition , the report attacked the physical conditions of the boarding schools , the enrollment of preadolescent children , and the inadequacy of the personnel . It recommended that salaries and standards be raised and that a professional educator be appointed Director of Education (Margaret Connell , 1999 )Utilizing archival materials , congressional records , and interviews , Margaret Szasz focuses on those systems of Indian education directly impacted by the federal government and federal policy . The assimilation programs of the Dawes Act era , the reform movements of the New Deal with the accompanying positive attitude toward Indian cultures the economic impact of World War II and the disastrous termination measures of the early 1950s are analyzed for their effects on education in day schools and the on- and off-reservation boarding schools directed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA . She presents the emerging power of Self-Determination ' from the supportive legislation of the Kennedy /Johnson years and the setbacks of the Reagan era to the present administration , and the resulting growth of yet another genre of education for American Indian people - tribally controlled schools and colleges . Szasz closes the most recent chapter in American Indian education policy with the story of the rise and expansion of tribally controlled colleges concluding that their commitment to community , to students , and to future leadership among tribal peoples suggests that they serve as the hope for the future for American Indians